Camden Falls intros new artists

Camden — Camden Falls Gallery begins the 2014 summer season by welcoming six new artists to the gallery with a show titled “Introductions.” Among the works featured are picturesque local landscapes and the ever-changing coastal Maine environment painted by Maine artists Alison Hill, Stefan Pastuhov, Renee Lammers, and Peter Yesis, along with harbor scenes by Baltimore-area painter Kirk McBride and boldly interpretive island images by Lindsay Hopkins-Weld of Massachusetts.

Both Hill and Pastuhov, who often work en plein air, are well-known locally for their ability to capture the essence and mood of a particular place and time on their canvases. Hill, a year-round resident of Monhegan Island, has studied at the prestigious Art Students League in New York City and holds master’s degrees in art therapy and art education. Pastuhov, who has lived in Maine for nearly 30 years, cites French Impressionists Corot and Sisely and the Rockport School’s A. T Hibbard, Emile Gruppe and Paul Strisik among his artistic influences. He paints outside on location in all seasons and is inspired by the endless beauty that Maine has to offer.

Much like Hill and Pastuhov, Yesis of Searsport sees painting as an opportunity to participate in the beauty and natural energy of the Maine woods, waterways and terrain. Reflecting his artistic training as an illustrator, his local landscapes and coastal views are rooted in realism but rendered in a softened style that leaves space for thought and reflection. In contrast, the canvases of Hopkins-Weld are playfully interpretive, rendering water, sky, and land with dynamic, swirling shades of blue, white and green in a style that has been compared to that of Maine favorites Brita Holmquist and Eric Hopkins.

McBride, the only artist in the group who resides south of New England, is a nationally known painter whose colorful, dynamic work offers views of local ships in harbor and at sail. Lammers follows a centuries-old and quite distinct tradition of painting with oils on copper, rather than on canvas as do the other artists in “Introductions.” Similar in subject matter to McBride's, her small yet lively compositions feature images of local schooners and harbor scenes, painted on-site in Camden.

“Introductions” will be on view at Camden Falls Gallery from Tuesday, June 10, through June 26. The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit camdenfallsgallery.com or call 470-7027.